1. Books: Why are they Challenged and Banned? Celebrate Your Freedom to Read!
2. What does challenged mean? Challenged: trying to remove or restrict materials based on the objections of a person or group. American Library Association The book may or may not be removed from the library.
3. What does banned mean? A banned book is a book that has been censored by a library, school system or government. The book has literally been removed from the library.
4. When a book is challenged and banned… Censorship happens. Censorship is an official [person or people group] who examines books, plays, news reports, motion pictures, radio and television programs, letters, cablegrams, etc., for the purpose of suppressing parts deemed objectionable on moral, political, military, or other grounds. www.Dictionary.com
6. Why do people want to challenge and ban? People who want to challenge and ban have good intentions. Reasons Why: Protect children from difficult ideas and information. Book is: Offensive in language Sexually Explicit Unsuited for an age group
7. Who challenges or bans books? Religious groups Government Individuals Social entities Parents
8. What are our rights? The First Amendment of the Constitution gives us the right to free speech. This means that we have the ability to read and write books that may be considered morally wrong by others. According to former ALA President Carol Brey-Casiano, "Not every book is right for every person, but providing a wide range of reading choices is vital for learning, exploration, and imagination. The abilities to read, speak, think, and express ourselves freely are core American values."
9. Did you Know? Grimm's Fairy Tales (Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, Cinderella) were banned at one time for being to violent. Little Red Riding Hood was banned at one time because Little Red Riding Hood gave her grandmother a bottle of wine. People thought it would encourage drinking. Harriet the Spy, was banned because it supposedly taught children to "lie, spy, back-talk, and curse." Harry Potter Series are banned because it teaches kids the use of witchcraft. People thought that children would confuse fantasy with reality. What do you think?
10. Recently Banned/Challenged Books Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson Grouped with four other novels for foul language, topics like sex, child abuse, suicide and drug abuse. Withdrawn from class but in the library. What’s it about: After finally getting noticed by someone other than school bullies and his ever-angry father, seventeen-year-old Tyler enjoys his tough new reputation and the attentions of a popular girl, but when life starts to go bad again, he must choose between transforming himself or giving in to his destructive thoughts.
11. House of Night Series by: P.C. and Kristin Cast Banned for sexual content and nudity. The whole series was banned before it was published. Stephenville, TX What’s it about: 16 year old Zoey Redbird is “Marked” by a vampyre tracker and begins to undergo the “Change” into an actual vampyre. She has to leave her family in Broken Arrow, OK, and move into the House of Night, a boarding school for other fledgling vampyres like her.
12. TTFN by: Lauren Myracle Banned/challenged because of nudity, sexually explicit content, offensive language, unsuited to age groups. What’s it about: Now high school juniors, Zoe, Maddie, and Angela continue to share "instant messages" with one another as one of them experiments with marijuana, another gets her first boyfriend, and the third moves three thousand miles away.
13. How to Get Suspended and Influence People By: Adam Selzer Challenged for the cover. A nude woman is abstractly drawn on the front and profanity on the back. What’s it about: Gifted eighth-grader Leon Harris becomes an instant celebrity when the he makes a sex-education video for a class project which sends him to in-school suspension.
14. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Banned/challenged because of racism, offensive language and unsuited to age groups. What’s it about: Two children in a small southern town in the l930s are thrust into an adult world of racial bigotry and hatred when their lawyer father chooses to defend a black man charged with raping a white girl.
15. My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult Banned/challenged due to sexism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, unsuited to age, and suicide. What’s it about: Thirteen-year-old Anna, conceived specifically to provide blood and bone marrow for her sister Kate who was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia at the age of two, decides to sue her parents for control of her body when her mother wants her to donate a kidney to Kate.
16. Song of Solomon by: Toni Morrison Banned due to racism, violent imagery, sexually explicit, foul language and depictions of homosexuality. What’s it about: Follows the life of Macon Dead, Jr., the son of the richest black family in a Midwestern town, as he leaves home on a quest for personal freedom.
17. Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott Banned/challenged due to graphic content. What’s it about: Alice, a 10-year-old girl, is abducted by a kidnapper named Ray and forced to be his sex slave for five years until he decides that she is getting too old for his desires. Alice is ready to die to escape his control, but is forced to help him find her successor. Due to the mature subject matter of this book, reader discretion is advised. Librarians and teachers may wish to preview this book before recommending it for older teens.
18. Check Out the Top of the book shelves to see more banned and challenged books!
19. Sources: American Library Association. (2010). About Banned and Challenged Books. Retrieved 9 14, 2010, from American Library Association: http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/index.cfm Brunner, B. (2007). Banned Books. Retrieved 9 12, 2010, from FactMonster: http://www.factmonster.com/spot/banned-kids-books.html Doyle, R. P. (2010). Think for Yourself and Let Others Do the Same. Retrieved 9 15, 2010, from American Libraries Association: http://www.ila.org/pdf/2010banned.pdf
